Chapter Text
By mid December Brian managed to push past whatever sickness he'd suddenly caught. The doctors themselves never quite figured out just what it was that caused him to be sick so suddenly, but some speculated it was simply his infection coming back for a second round. Others found something odd in the fluids he was being given, though they'd never gotten the proper chance to look into it, or perhaps they didn't really care.
In the time he'd been in and out of consciousness, they'd managed to do a handful more operations on him, removing some teeth that were beyond salvageable in their condition.
Brian wished they'd stop removing so much of him. By the end of the year he'd only be a shell of himself if they took anything else.
"Its nice to see you finally got that cast off your jaw." Jenny comments. He has to agree, it is nice. His jaws still sore and its still difficult to eat, but the ability to eat at all was better than nothing.
"Hurts to talk." He rasps, "Better than nothing though."
"Better than nothing." She repeats, "Maybe you'll even be out of here by New Years."
"Maybe."
Truth be told, Brian didn't really know where he even planned to go by New Years. The doctor mentioned that he would need a good caretaker, understandably, for daily tasks. Brian didn't have the money for someone like that. Half the 'hush money' he'd been given from Cyberfun went straight into paying any hospital bills that came up the longer he stayed. He wanted to leave, but he had nowhere to go. No truck full of things to sleep in, no home that was close by.
"You look stressed." Jenny interrupts his spiraling. "Got a look similar to one Sophie gets when shes thinking too hard."
"Guess I'm kinda just...I don't know...scared? I don't know where I'm going to go."
"Don't have any family nearby?"
"I mean, there's my uncle, but I don't exactly know him well enough and don't really like him from what my aunts had to say. Rest of my family including said aunt sorta lives back in Hurricane, and they haven't really answered any letters I've sent, at least not that I know of. Haven't sent any recently because well- you know."
"Right…"
"I guess Kevin and Hilary recently offered a spare room but-"
"Oh sweet! Those two are pretty alright, I think you'd like-"
" But… " Brian continued, laughing ever so slightly, "I don't want to barge in on their like- I don't know, lives? We hardly know each other, I don't even really know what they look like. Hilary insists that she gave me a tour or whatever but I don't even remember that."
"So?"
"So what am I going to do when I walk in on two strangers' lives and they find out they don't actually want me there, Jenny?"
A valid question, as sad as it sounded. What would he do? Where would he go? He couldn't really go anywhere, what with the lack of eyes and legs and arm and-
"Relax man, I think you're thinking too hard about this." Jenny reassures him, or tries to at the very least, Brian isn't so sure he believes her and she can tell. "If anything it'll probably help them a little just as much as it'll help you."
"Whats that supposed to mean?"
"I- alright you didn't hear it from me, but Kevin and Hilary lost someone a few years back, like four years ago. When Sophie and I first went to them about it they were so closed off, they wouldn't tell us anything! Eventually Kevin came to us on his own to sorta talk about his sister or something, and then the two of them offered together to take us to K9, but you could kinda feel the tension between them." Jenny laughed awkwardly, "I mean they'd argue practically every three hours, I wouldn't be surprised if they argued on the way to get help."
"Jenny I gotta be honest, I don't think I want to live with people who argue every day."
"Thats understandable. I just don't think they were always like that, you know? Like you can see the spark in them is there, they care about each other, its just they lost their balance. I and Sophie were kinda freaked out when we all found you, but those two practically jumped on getting help, like- I mean- like you were the friend they lost four years ago. It was kinda wild to see them work together."
"Your point?" Brian frowned, "I don't see how this is meant to convince me to take their offer."
"I'm just saying, if anyone can help you its probably those two. They've got their own things they're working out for sure, but living with them means you have good company and people who are at least semi-familiar. Kevins a great guy to talk to hes really funny, makes great baked goods too. Hilary is really nice to talk and listen to, her cooking is great, and she loves looking into unsolved cases so maybe she could help you with the memory. I'd offer to let you stay with Sophie and I, but we live in the old hotel right now and the apartment is kinda tiny."
He hadn't even considered asking to live with them, Jenny and Sophie. Would have been rude given how Sophie's been so busy with her very own shattered memory. Brian wouldn't want to barge in on that, step on any toes. Sophie and Jenny needed their space.
From the sounds of it, so did Kevin and Hilary, no matter how hard Jenny tried to convince him it would be okay. There was always the 'what if', always wondering what would happen if they changed their minds. Always, always, always.
He sighed.
"I should just rent a place at the hotel."
"And live on your own? Not a chance, little man." She snorts, "I'd be too worried and come check on you like every five minute."
"Little- I bet you're just as short as I am, maybe even shorter."
"Shorter? You wish. I'm taller than Kevin, and Kevin's tall. You're like Sophie sized next to me." She laughed, and Brian laughed with her. "Seriously though, think about their offer. I bet they'd love to have you around, and maybe you could do with a little company that isn't doctors, right? A win - win situation."
Maybe. The idea of a doctor coming by every day to help him made Brian feel a little sick. He was done with doctors, he was done with them taking parts of him, and he was certainly done with having to hear them judge him near every day when they assume hes asleep or that he can't hear. He knew he'd have to come back every so often for checkups, but avoiding the hospital all together for a while was practically a dream at this point.
He said his goodbyes to Jenny, waving with what energy he had left, and leaned back into his bed. Maybe she was right. Maybe taking up Kevin and Hilary's offer was his best option here, despite the possible setbacks like the arguing.
He could handle a little arguing.